State of the Practice Document: The objective is to provide practicing engineers with a document (or series of documents) that outlines the standard and accepted practice for performing structural analysis of reinforced concrete structures. This includes identifying common problems that arise in the modeling and analysis of real structures, recommending strategies for addressing these problems, addressing issues associated with elastic and inelastic analysis under earthquake loading, recommending validation and verification procedures, and providing references. See ACI website (ACI Committee 447 Home) for most recent outline.
Benchmark and Blind Prediction Studies: These studies provide an opportunity to advance the state-of-the-art in finite element analysis by bringing researchers and practicing engineers together to simulate the response of a structural sub-assemblage that has been tested in the laboratory. Typically, these studies are initiated by the researcher who is conducted the experimental investigation and culminate with a seminar in which the participants present their analytical results and their observations about the strengths and weakness of the models they employed. Following is a list of benchmark and blind-prediction studies. Individuals interested in participating should contact the study organizers.
 | Structural Response of a Concrete Interface to Reverse Cyclic Loading. Organized by Prof. Victor Saouma, University of Colorado at Boulder, and Dr. Eric Puntel of Politecnico di Milano. Information is provided at the following website (Saouma study) and responses will be due in June 2005. Individuals interested in participating should contact Prof. Saouma. |
| Structural Response of Reinforced Concrete Beam-Column Joints Subjected to Seismic Loading. Organized by Hitoshi Shiohara, Associate Professor, and Fumio Kushara, Research Associate, University of Tokyo. The experimental test program is intended to investigate the mechanisms that determine seismic response and provide data for use in validating previously proposed mathematical models. Information is provided at the following website (http://www.rcs.arch.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp/shiohara/benchmark/). |
| Benchmark Studies to Advance Simulation of Walls. Two 1/8-scale I-shaped wall sub-assemblages were subjected to pseudo-static cyclic lateral loading, in combination with axial loading for one of the two specimens. Experimental data available for use in evaluating numerical models include data characterizing the material response of concrete and reinforcing steel, concrete and steel strain data collected during the tests, damage data and input files for Vector analyses. Additional information available at http://www.ecf.utoronto.ca/~palermo/DP1.htm. |
| Benchmark Studies to Advance the Simulation of Dams. Organized by NW-IALAD, Task Group 3. Additional information available at http://nw-ialad.uibk.ac.at/Wp2/Tg3/Se5. |
| PEER Structural Performance Database. This site provides the results of over 400 cyclic, lateral-load tests of reinforced concrete columns. |
